Christmas presents 2.0: more joy and less consumption

Posted by Alex Sinopah Duran on 06-01-2016 - Last updated on 06-01-2016

Games are a favorite of many gifters around the holiday season. They are a good way to get the family engaged and having fun- especially those played on a board of some sort. While they may seem like a somewhat low-impact gift (especially in comparison to some of those other toxic, battery powered, massive sized, un-recyclable whatchamacallits), they still have a negative impact of their own- a good portion of which coming from packaging and distribution. What if we had the option of buying a downloadable version of some of these games? Manufacturers could sell digital versions of their games online, so that they can be printed out by consumers themselves. Most people have a printer in their own home, many of which can print on thick stock or photo paper. And if not, one can make a quick trip to the local print shop. As a caveat, I know this might not be possible for all games, as some include 3D components that cannot be printed (well not until we all have 3D printers in our homes). But, what if the manufacturer could ship only those parts which can’t be printed, directly to consumers? Imagine all of the natural capital that could be spared in packaging and manufacturing; and the energy in the manufacturing, distribution stages. This would also encourage modularity in the design of these games: new editions, add-ons, extras, bonus items- all could be introduced to create more value for customers, and more revenue streams for the companies- not to mention all of the savings in cost already. Seems like a win-win-win for the triple bottom line.